470 Days to Go!

The U.S. Travel Association stated on February 19 in Congress (the meeting to which I was invited to) that the United States is not ready to host the 2026 World Cup. The two biggest areas holding us back? Inadequate airport infrastructure to handle the expected number of visitors (both domestic and international travelers), and the antiquated visa travel policy which deters people from wanting to come to the United States in the first place. This doesn’t mean that FIFA will remove the World Cup from the USA, but we should pay attention to their findings and rethink our expected travel plans for the World Cup.

Two pieces of information that I found particularly interesting that I have not shared on social media were 1) Trump administration officials do not care about the long visa wait times. For many of them, including white supremacist Stephen Miller, they do not want any foreigners to be coming into the United States (unless they are white, of course). If Colombians or Nigerians can’t make it to the World Cup, so be it. The conversations I had with folks in the room was that as long as tickets are sold, they don’t care if the foreigners can’t come in. Don’t expect the visa situation to improve. 2) There is uncertainty about the presence of ICE at the stadiums and fan festivals during the tournament. The topic wasn’t brought up during the revealing of the commission report, but in my conversations with individuals, they simply don’t know if the Trump administration will ease up on enforcement during the World Cup (or Club World Cup for that matter). For many of us, we don’t want these entities outside the stadium creating a very unwelcoming gameday experience. I will keep paying attention to these topics as I have these conversations here in D.C. and elsewhere.

In Case You Missed my Content

• I’ve published 2 long-form videos on YouTube since the last newsletter.

• I’ve hosted a couple of lives that you can watch on YouTube.

2026 World Cup News

• Updates are Coming to NRG Stadium in Houston

• Kansas City remains hopeful they will be ready to host fans after U.S. Travel Association travel report

• Seattle has added over 1,400 hotel rooms for the World Cup 

• Dallas Police cant take vacation during the 2026 World Cup

• Interesting that Kansas City is trying to host the German Soccer Team for the World Cup

• More on the report that the USA is not ready to host the 2026 World Cup

Money and Travel News

• Amtrak is making significant infrastructure improvements, but most of these projects won’t be ready by 2026 & Trump admin could cut funding

• For you AvGeeks, here is an update on Alaska Airlines’ fleet for 2025-2026

• Alaska Airlines is also focusing on DFW rather than DAL for its flights, which provides better connectivity with its partner, American Airlines

• A great breakdown of the airport lounges provided by Capital One through its Venture and VentureX credit cards

• A great breakdown of the airport lounges provided by Chase through its Chase Sapphire Preferred and Reserve credit cards

• A list of the best high-yield savings accounts, provided by NerdWallet

• You can now transfer your Capital One miles to JetBlue, but there are other alternatives you should consider

• You can review the Delta SkyClubs being offered

• You can also get a head of start at earning American Airlines status

• Utterly disgraceful decision made by the U.S. State Department on calling for permanent visa bans for transgender individuals

Travel Deals

• Philadelphia Area for 2025 Club World Cup

  • Hilton Garden Inn Valley Forge/Oaks

  • Hampton Inn & Suites Valley Forge/Oaks

  • Tru by Hilton Audubon/Valley Forge